


Love Isn't a Toy

by ruby_tucker



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Age of Anarchy, F/F, F/M, M/M, Pre-Canon, ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25486915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruby_tucker/pseuds/ruby_tucker
Summary: WARNING: ATTEMPTED SUICIDEWARNING: ABUSEDanielle Selton is a known drug dealer at Cosmopolis Park during the Age of Anarchy. When a fight takes place between Tamaya Rae and Winston Pratt, she is sucked into a complicated thought process.
Relationships: Winston Pratt/Original Female Character
Kudos: 3





	1. The Climb

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic for my wonderful friend's birthday. It was originally intended to be a one-shot, but now I'm thinking that I'm going to have to write more chapters!

Cosmopolis Park was filled with some of the most notable underworld figures from the Age of Anarchy. Danielle included. 

She had started coming here daily under Ava’s instructions. It used to be horrible, but now she looked forward to it. Anything to get away from the dark warehouse the Tigers lived in. 

When her parents had been killed by the Jackals early in her life, the Tigers had taken her in. They were an all-girl group that did what it took to get along. Well, it was nice enough there, but Ava would always be yelling orders, and Padma would always be crying. And of course, there was always Adella asking when they could raid another beauty warehouse. It was just exhausting.

Cosmopolis Park was busy too but in a different way. It was always a competition about who could sell the most drugs or steal the most alcohol. To Danielle, it was almost soothing. 

She made her way to the part of the park that the drug dealers usually dealt in. As much as she hated doing it, it was the only way she could make a living, and Ava would kill her if she didn’t come back with any money. 

It was significantly busier than a normal day, but Danielle took this as a good sign. More people wanted to purchase drugs. Something else also caught her off-guard though. It was a lot louder than usual. Most of her drug dealings remained silent, only doing as much talking as needed to complete the trade. By now, she had a usual clientele, so she recognized faces, but she didn’t think she knew more than five names of her customers. 

The shouting was explained, when all of a sudden, she heard someone shout, “Renegades!” Shoot. This wasn’t the first time the Renegades had come to the park. They tried to shut down the illegal dealings, but it never worked. This place simply had to large of a reputation. 

Danielle knew that they wouldn’t be able to successfully stop dealings, but she didn’t want to have to deal with Georgia Rawles trying to steal her weed today. She had more important things to do. 

She had already started to pack up her things when she was able to make out another shout. “The Puppeteer!” 

Really? Winston Pratt had led them here of all places. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Danielle knew very well that Winston had a drug business at Cosmopolis Park. She had seen him many times before. He knew the area well, and the advantages. There weren’t very many kids though, which mostly defeated the purpose of Winston’s power. So why had he come?

Sure enough, she soon heard disgusting laughter that was most definitely The Puppeteer’s and saw the lime-green Anarchist symbol on his hot air balloon. He was quickly followed by Tamaya Rae, who was looking to be Winston’s arch-nemesis these days. Not wanting to be caught in the fuss, she once again started to pack up her things. 

Another part of her mind told her to stay. That same part of her brain told her that she wanted to see a fight that might go down in history. The sensible part of her brain told her to leave. She would find another way to get Ava’s money. 

The unrealistic part of her brain persisted, and she ended up taking cover under a broken Ferris wheel. She would still have a great view of the fight, but if a Renegade saw her, they most likely wouldn’t bother to search her for drugs. It was a win-win. 

The fight was starting to heat up. While she had been searching for cover, Anne Kreger, better known as The Meat Butcher, had joined Winston. Danielle searched Tamaya’s face for any signs of fearing Anne. Maybe they had fought before. It was unlikely though, considering Anne was known for leaving her opponent with far-less skin than they had before. 

Fear still refused to show on Tamaya’s face. Danielle envied her for that. Even if she could stay calm, hiding fear was much different. 

Danielle was lost in thought when she heard a throat clear behind her. She peered back but didn’t see anyone there. Newly suspicious, she looked back towards the fight. No new Renegades had shown up to help Thunderbird. So who had cleared their throat behind her? 

Looking back again, she saw that the Dread Warden had appeared. Of course! How had she forgotten about him? Danielle knew this was risky, but she needed to stay safe. She would be badly punished for abandoning her drugs, but she would be able to get more. As a loyal member of the Tigers, she wouldn’t get kicked out. 

She quickly stood up and pretended she hadn’t remembered the bag of drugs. Quickly running, she didn’t’ look back. If the Dread Warden was chasing her, he probably wouldn’t be visible anyway. 

Danielle knew Cosmopolis Park better than anywhere else in the city. She knew there was another Ferris wheel on the other side of the park. And after weeks of listening to Ivy’s boring research, she knew very well that the Dread Warden was a terrible climber. She was pretty good. If her plan failed, she would die, but she couldn’t particularly think of a better one right now. 

Finally, she reached the old Ferris wheel and began to climb. Thankfully, it wasn’t as rusty as she thought it had been. Only a few spots here and there. If she tried, she could avoid them. 

A sharp cry rang out from beneath her. Somehow, the range of the battle had moved vastly, and Thunderbird was in the sky right above her. From what she was able to see, Anne had accidentally burned off a bit of her own skin with her acidic breath. Danielle wasn’t surprised. 

She was getting high now, and she didn’t know why. Some part of her brain told her to keep climbing, even though there were no signs of the Dread Warden chasing her. He had probably taken the drugs and left. 

This made her feel much better about her chances of remaining alive when, and she started to relax. No. She couldn’t relax. Her grip was already starting to slip when she heard an explosion down below. There was no one she needed to survive for. The Tigers would be fine without her. So why was she still here? It would be so easy to end her chaotic, struggling to survive life right now. She let go of the rim. 

Falling. She felt her breath fall out of her quicker than she had made her decision to die. Suddenly, she realized something. She didn’t want to die. There was nothing she could do now though, it was going to happen. The truth quickly sank in: she was going to die. 

She was so close to the ground. So close to her death. She closed her eyes, and let her fate sink in. 

She fell on something. It couldn’t have been the ground, she was hardly in pain. Was she already dead? Could that have been it?

Danielle opened her eyes. Staring up at her was a face painted as a clown. It took a moment for the realization to set in. Winston Pratt had caught her. 

After a moment of simply starting at him in disbelief, he spoke. “Hey, gorgeous.”


	2. Great Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danielle is suffering the the aftermath of the events at Cosmopolis Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my tumblr: ruby-tucker!

Her thoughts were a blur. Where was she? Had she really just tried to commit suicide? Looking up, Danielle realized she was still in the arms of none other than Winston Pratt, the infamous Puppeteer. 

Blushing only from the awkwardness of the situation, she spoke up. “Thank you for saving me.”

He slowly started to put her down, “Trust me, the pleasure was all mine.” 

Now she was blushing. “Well, I need to go.” 

“Okay."

Danielle’s thoughts were certainly not in order, but she took off running. Through the mess of her fear, and anxiety, she had mostly forgotten the events. Slowly, her memories of the day started to return. She had been watching a fight between Thunderbird, and The Puppeteer when the Dread Warden had scared her. She had taken off running towards a Ferris wheel, and climbed it because she was scared of him taking her drugs. 

Her drugs. She certainly did not have them now. What was she going to tell Ava? And she didn’t have any money. The drugs she could barter for, but a day without money was a crime with the Tigers. If you weren’t contributing, they kicked you out. Danielle didn’t have anywhere else to go. The Tiger Den was her home. There were no villain gangs she could join, she wasn’t a prodigy. Ava’s forgiveness was her only hope. 

The closer she got to the warehouse, the more she realized she was screwed. Ava had kicked out members for less than what she had done. Danielle was hanging on by a mere strand of hope. 

Approaching the Tiger Den, Danielle straightened her posture. On a few occasions, Hailey forgot to do her job of collecting everyone’s money for the day. Margot had come around their beds to collect it later that night, but she could think of something by then. 

Her thoughts were as loud as her pounding heart. Please don’t let Hailey be at the door. Please don’t let Hailey be at the door. Please don’t let-

Her heart sank. She turned the corner and saw Hailey standing by the door, ready to collect her money. What was going to happen?

She gulped. “Daily earn?” Hailey asked, clearly bored with her easy job.

“I don’t, I don’t ha- have any.” Hailey’s eyes widened. Hailey was newer to this position and Danielle didn’t think she had ever had to send anyone to Ava before. 

Her rapid thoughts were silenced when little Hailey threw her arms around her waist. 

“Please don’t let this be goodbye,” she whimpered, starting to breakdown. 

Danielle knew she couldn’t leave Hailey like this. “Don’t worry. Whatever happens to me with Ava, I promise I’ll be alright.” Hailey pulled away from the hug and nodded. Danielle gulped, “I need to go see Ava now.” She started walking into the warehouse and didn’t look back to see Hailey’s reaction. 

The Tiger Den was the kind of building people ran through in nightmares. The floors were damp concrete, and the walls were the unfinished industrial style. It also didn’t help that Ava had made them put wood boards over the windows, so no one could break-in. The concept made sense, but Danielle craved the natural light of Cosmopolis Park. You’ll have tons of natural light when you’re living on the streets, a voice in the back of her head echoed. 

She took a deep breath and approached Ava’s office. She was about to knock when the door opened. Adelle flushed and scurried out. Was Adelle leaving too?

Danielle knew she was there for a serious reason, but curiosity took the best of her. She needed to know if Adelle was leaving. If she would have a friend on the streets. “What did Adelle need?” she asked Ava, who was seated at her desk. 

Ava’s face flushed red as a tomato. “It doesn’t matter.” Oh. She had never thought of Ava liking girls, but being surrounded by so many was apparently tempting. 

Changing the topic, Ava spoke up, “Why are you here?” she asked. 

Danielle looked down at the concrete floor. “I didn’t earn any money today.”

Ava’s face turned to business. “Why is that?”

“There was a fight at Cosmopolis, and I was forced to run.” She didn’t mention her attempt at death. 

“Do you still have your drugs to sell?”

Danielle gulped, “No.”

“Danielle,” Ava started, “You’ve contributed to the Tigers since you were very young. But those drugs were important for our money income. It would take ages for you to get back all the inventory you lost. I’m sorry.” 

She nodded and turned to go get her things. 

“Actually,” Ava drawled, “Danielle, wait.” She halted at the door. What more could Ava possibly want from her?

Ava stood up from her desk and approached Danielle. “You were prepared for this, I don’t think you’ve yet learned your lesson.” 

The next events happened in an instant. Before she knew what was happening, her face was burning. Ava had hit her! And hard too. Danielle was going to hit her back, but Ava struck again. That was the start of exactly thirty-eight more slaps. 

*** 

Danielle couldn’t remember the last time she had cried. The Age of Anarchy was a tough time, but she was a tough girl. Even so, she was most definitely crying now. Ava had hit her forty times, then left her to fend for herself. Her face was burning, and she didn’t have any money for medicine. 

Now, she was walking around Gatlon with nothing else to do. There were only a few hours left of daylight, and she would probably end up sleeping on a park bench. She would be lucky if she didn’t get pickpocketed of the very few things she did have. 

She held her ratty bag in her hand. Ava had been feeling generous the day they raided that warehouse and had let every girl pick something to be there’s. Picking this bag had just been intuition, but Danielle still loved it. It was one of the very few things that was hers, and no one else’s. 

That warehouse. When they had last raided it, the warehouse had been abandoned. Maybe it still was. If so, it would be a perfectly suitable place for her to live until she could find somewhere else. Not being able to control her crazy day, she took off running in the direction she had last remembered it was. 

***

She was no longer crying by the time she nearly collapsed from running. It certainly hadn’t taken this long to get there before, she must have taken a wrong turn. Before taking off again, she surveyed her surroundings and was met with a surprise. 

In her distraught state, Danielle hadn’t realized that she had stopped right outside the infamous cathedral. Even looking at it, she shuddered. She supposed that it was a pretty thing once, and people had gone there to worship, but now it was painful to look at. It was dark and damp, and an eerie feeling haunted the place. It didn’t surprise her much though. The lair of the Anarchists shouldn’t have had a happy feeling. 

“Come to see me?” a voice startled her from her thoughts. She looked around and saw the same man who had saved her life earlier. Winston Pratt, the Puppeteer.

Defenses rising, she remembered this was certainly not a safe place. “No. After what happened at the park earlier, my boss slapped me, then threw me out.” Why had she told him that? Danielle felt like she did trust him, but why? Because he had saved her life? Because he had flirted with her? He was an Anarchist, and he couldn’t be trusted. 

“Your boss threw you out, and you ran here?” Winston laughed in disbelief. Her heart melted at the sound of his laugh. Most people would say the thing was a shrill annoyance, but not her. The way Danielle heard it, that was the way angels laughed. 

No. He was an Anarchist. She was just a non-prodigy girl who had been abused. She shouldn’t trust him. But she did. 

“No. I’m going to a warehouse.” 

“Oh,” a second passed, “Why don’t you become an Anarchist?”

“I’m not a prodigy.” At that moment, Danielle saw confusion pass over his face. Why? There were plenty of prodigies, but even more civilians that weren’t. 

“Yes, you are.” 

There it was again. The exact reason she should not trust him. The Anarchists were crazy. Or, at least he was. 

“What in Gatlon’s name are you talking about?”

“Before I caught you, you hovered above my arms for almost a minute. You can fly.” She shot him a disbelieving look. In most stories she had heard, prodigies got their powers from birth, not traumatic situations. 

But then she was brought back to her friend Margot’s story about her parents. Margot had been ten when her parents died, and still remembered plenty of things about them. Danielle wished she had the same memories. 

Margot’s parents had gotten in a fight once, and her father had left the building. Her mother had cried, and cried, and cried. When she was done crying, there was a small pool of tears on the ground, and her mother had become a water elemental. 

It had happened before. 

In response to the silence, Winston spoke up, “It’s true.”

“It can’t be.” 

“Try.” Danielle shot him another look. Even if she did have powers, she had no idea how to control them. It was crazy that he thought she would be able to work them if she tried.   
“I don’t know how.” 

“That’s no excuse. Just focus.” Danielle scoffed at him, but he looked completely serious. 

After a few moments of silence, she gave in. “Fine,” she muttered under her breath. Closing her eyes, she envisioned falling at Cosmopolis Park. The fear that she was going to die. The fear that she would never see the Tiger Den again. That was no longer one of her fears. 

This time though, when she pictured the memory, she wasn’t falling into Winston’s arms, she was flying. 

Opening her eyes, she looked around. Danielle was no longer on the ground. She was flying! 

“Great skies!” she whopped, “I’m flying!” It was a feeling like no other one she had ever had. She looked around, and it felt like she could see all of Gatlon. When she was young, she had wondered what it was like to be a prodigy, now that she was one, it felt like it wasn’t real. She wasn’t really flying.

But when she looked around, it felt more real than ever. 

“Come on down!” Winston called up to her, and she obeyed. 

When she got down, she couldn’t take her eyes off his goofy smile. “Well then,” his smile got bigger, “Welcome to the Anarchists.”


End file.
